Youjo Senki

TLDR: A pretty interesting but poorly handled idea wrapped into ok action, extremely ruined by unnecessary edge.

(spoiling out only episode 1 and 2)

We start off at episode 2 where the plot instantly presents a very interesting idea of Rational vs Emotional. On one side we have an over the top rational guy that won't believe in god even if one appears in front of him and on the other side we have the guy that was driven into a corner, which ended up murdering him and the god (or being X).
This was a very intriguing start and what I liked the most about it is ... that the main character didn't lose his s**t even facing a situation like this, showing again to which extreme he's on the Rational side.

Now this is where my very first problem with the show appears - the fact that what I said above is episode 2.
This looks like a small detail, but in reality the first episode is the one that tries to appeal the most to the audience (aka the hook). So we learn here that the hook of the show is not the interesting above mentioned conflict, but action and edge. Also, it has a psychological effect to set the main hero in your brain to the loli...

And daaaamn the edge gets annoying as hell at points. Not only that the thing is aesthetically extremely displeasing, but it conflicts the very main idea of the show by taking off the Rational side of the MC, turning... it... into a typical sadist.
The most obvious next complain is - why a loli?
I am 100% positive that giving the MC like 5 more years wouldn't damage anything in the plot, so the obvious remaining answer is - to please the edgelords (sometimes... really.... fu Japan...). And again it makes no sense within the theme of the show! When the MC is so interested in just securing his easy life, he should have just chilled out for as much as possible. I am sure he would be provided an ok life, considering the importance of the mages in the setting.
These two things are actually the biggest flaws in the show and damage it from multiple aspects. If you can get over these, then your experience with it will be a lot better than mine.

Now the logical question that follows is - how does the show handle its core idea and does it go anywhere with it? The answer is - kinda...?
If you look at it on a superficial level - yes. This whole thing is like a game to the being X (going to call it that, it cracks a smile on my face), which constantly sets up bad situations for the MC, at some points making it even look like trolling and watching the MC struggle can be very entertaining at points.
But again there's this thing that keeps bugging me... Being X is the biggest a**hole in the series. In the Rational vs Emotional fight, I'd really like to see both positives and negatives of both sides. In the Rational camp we can see them both: negative - can't understand human emotions and pays for it; positive - brings results. Yet in the second camp there's only an ass that keeps making wars and killing off people just for the sake of fking around with one person and not only that, but gives power to that person so that it stands a chance so that the killings continue. It's way too easy to take a side.
I have to say that I'm not trying to nitpick this, because it really doesn't take that much effort to show another side of X - just a few scenes here and there where blessings save life. Then it would perfectly symbolize what Emotions are - sometimes warm, sometimes self-destructive.
In the end we have to blame the laziness of the scriptwriter and the low demands of the audience.

The last thing one could care about are the characters... and we have literally one. Everyone else is of low to no importance and the only opposing force in the form of an actual character will exist in the sequel.... YAAAAAAY!
I also generally tend to hate on "perfect" characters. I'm talking about Narsus from Arslan Senki or the MC from Alderamin etc. This is the category that the MC of this show falls into. All the judgments he makes are always corect and his logic has no flaws, being dragged down only by others, even to the point of unjustified hate, despite the MC having the right predictions.

In the end, it's as I said before. Watch this for some action, ignore the rape faces (unless you're into this kind of thing) and try to not too dig too deep into the plot. This is a decent time-waster, nothing more nothing less.

When one reads the synopsis of the anime, they will automatically feel interested. The idea seems very new, and different. It also makes you curious to know what will happen next. And for the first two episodes, it kept getting more and more interesting.
Until you realise that the 'plot' is completely unrelated to the execution.

story: 2/10
As mentioned in the synopsis, apathetic middle aged dude gets reincarnated to a little orphan girl by a pissed off 'God', because somehow this way will show him that God exists, and make him grateful, he then gets into this tough world but discovers that there is some sort of ... magic(?) that people fight with, and that he had amazing, unique powers.

Well, I had many problems:

My first problem was how irrelevant the whole reincarnation into a lilo was. He volunteers to enter the army at the age of 8 (no questions) and goes on to become better and better. Having already been an apathetic person, this helped him in being a 'merciless' soldier. and his past life also helped him, but is that all that there is to the whole reincarnation process? We get to rarely see 'God' or 'X Being' in limited scenes where he says empty words that mean nothing, but somehow fuels Tanya to 'overcome obstacles', I have 2 questions:

1. Isn't talking to him acknowledging the fact that he exists?
2. How can she not believe in God, yet falsely pray to somehow make her magic work? made no sense.

It was a great disappointment to see that the reincarnation was only made so that we'd see how the dude seemed very wise in her other life. [as Tanya]
While the first 2 episodes seem greatly interesting and different, the anime just falls into a very normal series about war. (No right or wrong, patriotism, fighting solely for one's country and following authority) The whole trying-to-be-badass-and-challenge-what-is-calling-himself-a-god- could have easily been avoided. It added nothing to the plot but explaining why a ten year old is leading war.

My second problem was the fact that Tanya was a fucking lilo. Her being a lilo is a hit or miss, a hit where you think this is brand new and different, interesting to see a 10 year old bossing everyone, or a miss where it's very creepy and offsetting, and also where you cannot believe how everyone acted like it was completely normal and ok for an 8 year old to join the army and beat others all by herself. I don't know about you, but I don't think it was normal back in 1942 (her being a mage doesn't justify anything.)

I also did not really understand the usage of magic, there is little to no details about it. It was unnecessary and can completely be thrown in the garbage. In the series, some humans have 'magic abilities' which can help the country in war, so scientists create some flying shoes and boxes which 'mages' can fly with to fight enemies. They can also protect themselves and, while using very normal guns, shoot very non-normal bullets. Now don't ask me why people who can use magic need rifles and bullets to begin with, because I cannot give you an answer. It felt like the 'magic' was only put there in an attempt to make the anime look cooler. We never know any kinds or types, any details, what can make it weaker or stronger, when it started existing, its abilities. We know nothing at all.

BUUUUUUUT, the anime *is* entertaining. At one point it did feel repetitive and boring, but for the most part it was greatly engaging. I think it would have been much better had the protagonist been a normal aged character, or if the reincarnation thingy was of any relevance to the plot.

Characters: 5/10

Tanya wasn't a very bad character. Staying in her/his head was quite entertaining and the thought progess was enlightening, but I only felt that the show was about her, which was of no problem at all, but left me forgetting all other characters. I just found her, or him, a little too smart. It's not like he was a General in the military in his past life, he was just a very simple businessman, his talent and abnormal ability of command, training, and combat were just too...unrealistic. His flexibility as well. He adapted rather too quickly to transforming from a middle aged man to an infant girl, he did not even blink.

my problem with the characters was the X being/God. He was very bland and childish, in the very few scenes where he appeared to pause time, it seemed that he was only trying to tease Tanya while failing miserably to 'prove his point.' Such a meaningless character.

The other characters, as mentioned above, are very easily forgettable. The only character worthy of praise was Colonel Sioux, he left quite an impression on me.

Anime Art: 6/10
I divided it 5 for the background and places, and the other 5 for the characters design.
The backgrounds & places are extremely beautiful. I paused the anime more than a couple of times to take screenshots of how mesmerizing most of the scenery looked. What made the rating go low was the characters' design and how bad they were. Tanya and Viktoriya especially looked very, very sloppy. It pained my eyes whenever Viktoriya appeared in any scene.
There is some lazy work in the battles as many scenes are repeated or static, but this did not cause me much of a problem as they did, at the end, entertain me.

Sound: 8/10
Although I didn't feel it was used much, the sound was very good. From the opening and closing themes to the soundtracks and everything in between..

Overall: 5/10
the story and characters' design needed lots of improvement but they did not prevent the series from being an engaging one. Not something I'd regret watching but not something I'd recommend, either.

Ok, so I liked the story, the English voice actor fit perfectly for the main character but as much as I would have enjoyed giving it a 7 or 8, it was the design of the main character and her assistant that really caused me to give it a lower score. Everyone else looks great, like how a "normal" character would look. The main character and her assistant, however, look like some weird messed up dolls in the face. The eyes are way too big, or disproportionate, for their heads. I kept being distracted every time I saw them and couldn't ... stop thinking how much it was ruining the show for me.

Besides that, everything else was fine, and a good show to have playing in the background while doing other things or to watch while eating.

The saga of Tanya the Evil (Saga) is a show based in an alternate world that closely resembles WW1 Europe. Saga initially aired in January 2017 at the time I was unaware of the show, later when I discovered its page, I passed on watching the show as the critics convinced me that Saga would not be worth my time despite its relatively high score. Fast forwarding to this season and Isekai Quartet is coming out. I had watched 4 out of the five shows featured and was curious as to Saga again in preparation for Quartet. So I found it and watched it dubbed ... once I found there was one available.

One of the things I did like about Saga was its setting. The World War 1 setting is a neat period of history that until recently was not touched upon as much as the other great war. That is not to say they were going for sheer periodic accuracy; it is very much just based in that period. The big twist to the setting is that in this universe Magic exists, and the nations in the world use it to bolster their military might. Saga doesn't show many applications of this magic. We learn that children are tested for mana while young. If they have enough mana, they are sent to become mages. They channel their magic through crystals broaches pinned to their chest which allows them to fly and/or imbue their guns to shoot bullets as devastating as artillery or track multiple targets and put up shields to resist enemy fire. I don't think they show magic doing anything else though I think at one point Tanya throws a fireball, I absolutely could be wrong though. Its something Saga does not go into any real depth about. I often wondered how this magic affected this world's history but with the way, not quite Germany generals talk about famous battles in Earth history like Hannibal's or Ceaser's remains unchanged leading me to believe that magic must have been a more recent discovery. Again I may be wrong, but Saga does not go into detail to refute that.

It is honestly one of my significant issues with Saga was that it never really goes into detail much. I get they only had 12 episodes, but the show loses a lot by being this vague. I would have loved to get more background info on not quite Germany, almost France, The UK's sibling, maybe Norway, approximately Serbia or Burgundy, heck we did not even get to see much from Nearly Russia. This lack of information carries to most of the characters too besides Tanya, her adjunct, and the generals in strategy. The viewer is just not given enough to care about these characters nor many defining traits to differentiate them from other soldiers.

The cast as I mentioned is a bit lackluster. Tanya the main lead is not likable, but she really was not meant to be. Before she was reincarnated to this world, she was a manager of some sort at a company, a bit higher up than the typical salaryman. Tanya was a callous and cold man. He was a ladder climber with dreams of upper management for a comfy life, something she strives for even in her new world. Tanya is a person who hates inefficiency and incompetence at the start of the show we see him firing someone for not meeting their quotas. There are some excellent points to Tanya. The troop she trained that have passed muster in her eyes she values much and makes sure they are taken care of. Though part of me believes this is just because it would reflect poorly on her to her superiors if she lost men. She also reminds me a bit of a lawyer always finding ways to skirt around or justify her actions to international war law. Her adjunct Visha is a bit of an airhead she is well-meaning enough and smart enough to command a squad of men, that and Visha clearly is the fanservice character as her rack is plentiful. The generals were a bit fun they had all the traits of their WWI counterparts with lots of drinking and smoking big cigars while they directed the troops throughout the war. It would have been nice to see more than the glimpse we got of the opposing sides generals, but it was fine as it was. Also, Tanya kills an opposing mage, and his daughter who has fled to for the most part USA signs up to fight against Tanya is named Mary Sue I chuckled at that.

It does bring up a good point though I was surprised at how egalitarian these countries were. As opposed to their counterparts who just had women enlisting in support roles for the most part these countries do not discriminate whether a male or female wants to join active service. Now, this could only apply to the mages as they are a privileged class and a resource these nation states do not want to squander. Now that I think of it I did not see much in the way of female grunts, but more on background later.

The battles and tactics employed were pretty cool to watch. I also liked the tech they gradually used some of it was later WWI tech towards the end. There were some subtle fact references sometimes too. In one moment where Tanya is facing an enemy mage, he uses a trench shotgun. Something the Germans called out the Americans in WW1 as illegal because of their effectiveness at sweeping trenches. Something Tanya does as well.

Art-wise for the main cast, it looked average, but when it comes to the big battles sometimes, the CG looked really rough if there was a vast mass of people moving. It was neat to see each nations motif for their mages. They all were individualized. I laughed when I saw the UK's Sibling's mages were riding mostly broomsticks. In the sound department, nothing stuck out. I mentioned I watched this dubbed and they did an excellent job I liked Tanya's English Va better than the Japanese one.


In the end, Saga turned out to be okay not what the critics lampooned it for, nor worth the high praises heaped upon it either.

Minor setting spoilers.

This anime is INCONSISTENT.

Psychopathic Tokyo businessman gets isekai-d to an alternate world undergoing a world war.

At first glance the world seems on the brink of a grand war. But we also have magic. That alone disqualifies any arguments over historical accuracy. That said, at one point it is hinted that we are at the edge of that world's Great War (aka World War I). But we also see advanced tanks, airplanes and other technology you'd only find in our WW2. It is effectively meant to be a kitchen sink warfare setting. With magic. Any parallels to our history are pointless.

The premise of why ... we end up there is our main character pisses off a temperamental god entity. So it reincarnates him in the body of a little girl in a war-torn world to make his life miserable. But also gives him/her OP magic and allows her to retain her memories of the previous life (with no obvious precedent or any explanation ever offered). And conveniently that world is a perfect meritocracy, allowing little girls to rise through the military ranks with zero obstacles or prejudice.

And what does protag-chan, the pinnacle of rational thought, do to deserve this? She rejects the existence of said god, even when presented multiple times with clear, direct, observable evidence. There is no nuance to be found here. It isn't about the nature of the entity, or his motives. Merely his existence.

Why do we even have to have a psychopathic protag? Well because it's war and she needs to be able to kill people with no remorse. Can't have pesky morals getting in the way of the spectacle.

Everything about the setting is a conceit meant to facilitate having a loli badass military commander. Which makes for some interesting character moments. That's about the extent of the show's substance. There is some genuine military strategy sprinkled throughout, but it is never explored in detail. It tries to make social commentary every once in a while, poorly. There is one tiny, pathetic hint at the fascinating geopolitics that lead up to such a grand conflict that is similar to the stage that ignited WW1 in our world and that is it.

Story: Goes nowhere ultimately. Never got to conclude the adaptation of the manga.
Art: Is subjective. I didn't mind the obvious CGI at many places. Liked Tanya's expressions.
Sound: Is amazing.
Characters: Flat, though Tanya is entertaining in her sheer stubbornness and determination.
Enjoyment: War spectacle and fun character moments. Little beyond that.

Overall: I struggled what to make of this show, hence this review to put those thoughts in order. There are hints the show wants to tell you things, be more. But it fails. What remains is the spectacle of war and the main character, so long as you consider that juxtaposition interesting.

I basically am an isekai mudball you can say and I started to watch it so I can watch isekai quartet, the other three isekai in that sow were my favourite so I thought why not give it a shot.

An MC who is 100% sure he/she can outwit god himself/herself, and a kami who doesn't give a damn about "playing by the rules" and would play any dirty trick until the world around our MC will push him/her to have faith. I realized these two are trying to see who'll get the last laugh. This dynamic will surely entertain us throughout the show. The god ... is pretty much the antagonist of the show.

Yeah it's pretty OK, I enjoyed it for the most part-

I think it's meant to be an incredibly selfish fight of ego between two forces, Tanya-A sociopath with a god complex, and "Being X"-God himself...with a god complex. Who will end countless lives in their quarrel. Tanya will never worship god, because she believes god is a pointless asshole. God cannot handle somebody being unfaithful, and will manipulate the world itself to make Tanya's life a living hell.

Characters: More like character, singular, that being the oh-so hateable Tanya, with a quest to live a peaceful life to spite god, she decides to manipulate her way ... through the rankings of...the fucking military-widely known for providing peaceful lives! This is, a massive oversight and I have no idea what they were thinking. Her goal is an interesting one for a villain.
The problem with the characters in this show...is the lack there of, literally everybody except Tanya has not been developed-no backstory, no motivation, no ideology, no plans for the future, if you took any pair of characters from the show and put them in a room, you could not imagine how they would interact at all.

Art: I have to say the OP and ED are very cool, with the way they use the REALLY nice looking manga art, but the animation in the show itself is....decent, I like the expressivness of faces, especially handy for a visual aid in showing Tanya's dementedness.

Sound: Hard to judge, I think the OP and ED are quite catchy, but that's something too subjective to say. Voice acting is just fine and they sell their characters well enough. The explosions and gunshots sound punchy I guess?

Although Tanya has a interesting new take to isekia anime where it more civil rights war like ear I thought was very interesting right off the bat and no to mention the mc is a little girl, it is lacking in plot and just focuses on war. I understand Tanya existence is supposed to be a big f u to the being x and to live a comfortable life later on but that's what it really comes down to. Sure some antagonist is thrown in later on but that's how it feels, Just tossed in for the sake of it. Where ... supposed to be rotting for him too apparently because he has a family. That's the only reason they give to us to root for him. :T
The Magic in the anime is kind of what's keeping the anime interesting in my opinion because magic like that where they incorporate a gun and flying before and it was favorable.
Animations is well done and its clear they stick to a dark pallete of colors to represent the dark a deadness of war and the state of the environment so that was always a tell to keep the certain atmospheric vibe they were going for.
Not much else to talk about other than the cast of characters are kind of bland expect of course Visha her second hand but that's the only memorable one.
There should've been more to it other than being x being annoying and Tanya arguing with him.

If you're looking for a civil war era like anime with magic incorporated then this anime is definitely for you especially again if you mainly like war. Also some cute girls to make it a bit better for this anime would be good to watch.